Los Angeles City Council did an about face last week and approved a 25-year lease extension for a helicopter company at Van Nuys Airport. Last March, council bowed to public pressure and voted against giving Bonseph Helinet the extension, which was tied to a planned $25 million redevelopment of its existing facilities at the airport. But a staff report received recently by council said turning down the lease would jeopardize about $300 million in federal grants at LAX and other airports and Mayor Karen Bass said that would endanger projects vital to keeping the basin's airports in top shape, particularly with major events like the World Cup and Olympics coming in the next four years. "Our airports are entry points to our city for the entire world and we have to run them like it," she said in a statement before the vote.
I have flown in and out of Van Nuys Airport (VNY) throughout my 60-year career as a pilot and flight instructor, and it remains one of the most memorable airports I’ve used. Why, I even got to meet Bob Hope, his wife Dolores, and their playful puppy at their house one day.
The Los Angeles City Council made a wise decision in approving the lease extension for Bonseph Helinet. It ensures much-needed modernization of aging facilities and secures vital federal funding that supports regional airport infrastructure. This decision protects jobs, bolsters key industries, and reinforces the city’s standing as a hub for aviation excellence. Good decision all around. Keep the “Quieter Nights Program” going!
“a well-organized coalition of anti-airport activists say their health is at risk from exhaust fumes and the noise from the facility”
“Exhaust fumes”. That’s a good one. I’m sure all of the motor vehicles driving on the roads in that area every day are entirely electric and non-polluting and thus have no “exhaust fumes” themselves. (sarcasm)
Seems like the “federal funding as a tool” approach is working, at least for now. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a local government suddenly change their minds when they found out that by messing with a local airport they’d lose some funding. Upon finding out that my old home airport LNA was now allowing small jets I was shocked, they were previously prohibited. I was told that the county’s old prohibition was quickly erased when someone challenged it and the feds threatened to pull funding if the interference with public airport use wasn’t stopped.
It was a win for the airport users against the NIMBYs that are so commonly a problem. For reference, LNA predates all homes around it by at least 10 years, having opened in the early 40s. It’s one of the clearest examples of “well you shouldn’t have moved in near an airport if you don’t want to hear airplanes” I’ve ever seen. The jet operations, now allowed, are still fairly uncommon. There’s not much interest around there with an international airport only a dozen miles or so away, and LNA is too small for most light jets anyway.
… which is why I turn it on after I’ve made my final “Mark-1 Eyeball” pass, “Auto”-correct is not your friend; cf. the article titled, “Flying with Hal” (sic).
Don’t blame “software weenies”. Blame a society, and thus those funding elementary education, for failing to place the proper emphasis on correct spelling and grammar. This has been going on for at least fifty years; spelling was the harbinger of a willingness to offload mental skills to technology. You want me to make change without a calculator? Give you directions without mapping software? Remember a shopping list without telling my phone first?
Besides, who cares about speling, you figgered out what I ment, didn’t 'cha?
I’ve written books, hundreds of tech and other articles, and I can assure you - something is always missed! I had 22 people proofread a book and - the agent found a mistake in the first paragraph that all of us had missed.
Autocorrect is a little like autopilot. You need to watch it closely and be ready to hit the disconnect button.
I think Hollywood Burbank (BUR) and Whiteman (WHP) airports could face more protests over noise, air quality, and health, like VNY. Without the City of Los Angeles’ protections, they seem weaker and more exposed. WHP’s location in Pacoima and mostly piston aircraft make it a target, while BUR’s busy operations and flight path issues add to tensions. VNY and BUR lead in carbon pollution, while WHP contributes the most to lead pollution. Protests may shift focus to BUR and WHP—wait, they already are! This is not fading.
Just got a news release stating “LA County will spend $1.3 million” to “study” the cost to close and “repurpose” Whiteman airport (KWHP). Grant issues are probably their only real defense to this particular closure, for as you note, Raf, they have no big money defenders.
I read that and expected it. Here was my comment: “Repurposing the airport” just means kicking out the planes to build condos, shopping malls, or whatever seems trendy. It might sound good to some, but for pilots and airport workers, it’s a nightmare.
The LA County leaders should know that as the population grows, so does the need for aviation. More people mean more flights for business, emergencies, and training. Airports like WHP, VNY, and BUR are crucial for meeting this demand. Closing WHP won’t reduce the need for flights—it’ll just push operations to other airports, overcrowding them and making noise and pollution worse for nearby communities.
The planes won’t disappear; they’ll move to VNY and BUR, creating new problems instead of solving the old ones. With a growing population, we need better airports, not fewer. Instead of shutting WHP down, we should focus on improving it to handle demand while reducing its impact on the community.
While I don’t disagree with you about deterioration of public education in Canada-US, my point is about software designers-coders and marketing people not thinking about how things will actually be used.
That’s a values focus - what is the purpose of them getting paid? Surely not to get jollies for themselves. I’ve seen great and bad software over my many years, with a muddle in the middle reminding me of Dagny Taggart’s frustration with mediocrity in the famous novel Atlas Shrugged. She’s trying to run a railroad, which requires accuracy. Evil she can identify and tray to do something, but mediocrity is like fog.
